Word information
Simplified南辕北辙
Traditional南轅北轍
Pinyinnányuán-běizhé
Part of speechGeneral
HSK 3.07-9
HSK 2.0Not listed
Chinese word dictionary
南辕北辙
nányuán-běizhé · to act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiom)
Character breakdown
Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.
How to learn 南辕北辙
Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.
When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.
Related vocabulary
Words with the same characters
Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.
北běi
north; (classical) to be defeated
北方běifāngnorth; the northern part a country; China north of the Yellow River
东北dōngběiNortheast China; Manchuria; northeast
东南dōngnánsoutheast
南nánsouth; surname Nan
南方nánfāngsouth; southern direction; (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of the Yangtze River